Page 56 of Montana Silence

“How are you?” Lena asked.

Brynn kept smiling, but it was tight. “I’m good. Don’t have too much time before I have to be over to the Mission Club. Waitressing.” She shrugged. “It works, for now.”

“Hmm.” Evie made the sound low enough for only me to hear. “That could be interesting.”

I raised my eyebrows.

“I can’t be here all the time anymore,” she said. “And as much as Lena says it’s fine, it’s not. There’s too much to do by herself, and she’s really behind. Brynn has been coming in for a few weeks, and she seems really nice. There’s something familiar about her.”

We shared a look. I hadn’t interacted with her enough to know, but I trusted Evie’s judgment. Maybe Brynn was running from something, just like we both had. If she was, Deja Brew was the perfect place for her to be.

“I’ll be right back,” she said. “Lena, come here for a second.”

They stepped into the kitchen together, leaving Brynn and me alone. They both liked her. Talking to friends was easy. Strangers, not so much. But if she might work here, she’d be part of our world soon enough.

I swallowed. “I’m sorry. The last couple of times, I was…preoccupied.”

“Oh, it was totally my fault. Iliterallyran into you. I swear I’m not usually that clumsy.”

The silence was awkward for a couple of seconds. I hadn’t talked to someone new in a long time. “You just moved here?”

“Yeah. Seemed like a nice change of pace. It’s good.” Her tone was too cheery for her to be telling the truth. “So far, at least.”

“It’s a good place to be.”

Lena came out of the kitchen with her usual burst of energy. “Sorry about that. Brynn, I have a question for you.”

“Shoot.”

“Do you like working at the Mission Club?”

The woman laughed. “It’s a job, and not the worst one I’ve had. But not really.”

“Well.” Lena put her hands on her hips. “Evie here can’t work full time anymore, and I need help. Would you be willing to come in for an interview?”

Brynn’s mouth dropped open. “Really?”

“If you like coffee and baking more than being a waitress,” Evie said.

“Yes. Absolutely.”

“Later this week? I’m swamped for the next couple of days. But swing by when you’re free.”

The look on Brynn’s face made the three of us smile. “Yes. Absolutely. I will.Thank you! I’m so sorry I have to go right now.”

“Don’t be late,” Lena said. “We’ll see you later.”

She grabbed her coffee and paused, like she was going to say something else. But she simply smiled and waved before speed-walking out the door.

“I think she’ll fit in,” Evie said. “And at the very least, if she doesn’t work out, she’ll have something more on her résumé than the Mission Club.”

I’d never been. It was an older bar on the outskirts of town and catered to a similar clientele. It didn’t have a reputation for being a friendly place to anyone who wasn’t a man over fifty. Working there as a woman was likely far worse than she let on.

“We’ll give it a go,” Lena said. “It worked out well the last time I took in a stray.”

Evie rolled her eyes, but she smiled too. “You going to be okay this afternoon?”

“I can help while I’m here,” I said.

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